Typically, irrigation systems depend on the control of various components in order to achieve a synchronized and dependable irrigation schedule that considers a multitude of factors, which must be calculated, in order to compensate for different field characteristics.
For example, while one particular terrain may require a large quantity of water, in that same irrigation field, another part of the terrain may require less water. This is often the case in irrigation systems that irrigate different types of targets in one field, or in systems that cover large landscapes that include various elevations or different types of soil.
Along with the problem of dealing with the numerous variables that affect different types of water schedules, irrigation systems must also keep water conservation issues at the core of a system's performance requirements. Various types of pipeline networks are created to adequately reach different irrigation targets, planned carefully to minimize wasting water.
In large irrigation fields, a main pipeline will have multiple sub-mains branching out with various laterals to deliver thousands of gallons to the various targets. Throughout the irrigation lines, multiple valves and pumps are used to control water flow and different types of check-valves are often implemented to prevent problems such as backflow or low head drainage.
Thus, a multitude of problems must be managed and solved by irrigation systems to adequately perform their tasks. Perhaps the most prominent problem is the management and control of the various valves, pumps, sensors, or devices that may be implemented in particularly large irrigation systems. This problem is naturally magnified in industrial size irrigation systems which may comprise several irrigation fields with different requirements and characteristics.
Traditionally, every single valve, pump, sensor, or irrigation device utilized within a particular system required manual calibration and operation. Naturally, such manual operation limits a particular irrigation scheme by requiring multiple personnel to manage and maintain each irrigation component.
More recently, several irrigation systems have been developed, which utilize controllers coupled to different devices implemented within an irrigation system. For example, controllers have been developed to automatically shut off valves at pre-set times. Controllers have also been adapted to turn pumps on and off, and even more recently, controllers have been developed, which comprise complex programming that controls a particular irrigation area within an irrigation system.
A serious drawback however, is the cost of each individual unit, of which many must be utilized to cover a single irrigation field, particularly in industrial size irrigation schemes where several locations encompass a single irrigation system. A single controller may cost thousands of dollars due to their complexity, and industrial irrigation systems often need hundreds of controllers to properly cover a single location alone.
Each controller must be connected to a power source which often involves miles of wiring that must be used to connect controllers, to each other, and to a particular component that a controller may be configured to manage. In addition to increasing the costs of such operations, wiring an irrigation field is a complex procedure. Proper insulation techniques must be utilized to adequately implement the necessary wiring to prevent faulty connections between controllers and keep the irrigation system safe for personnel that must have access to the irrigation field. Thus, simply implementing such controllers may encompass a complicated endeavor that requires use of valuable resources before an irrigation system is fully operational.
Furthermore, maintenance for each unit is required to frequently update its programming upon changes that naturally occur in the field. As new information is received and administered by an irrigation system, this information must be implemented to each individual controller so that the correct parameters are used in tasks, for example, such as calculating irrigation schedules.
Personnel, equipped with information previously gathered through sensors or other relevant sources of field information, are often deployed in the field to individually access each controller and manually set the correct parameters.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an irrigation system that is more efficient, less-expensive and more cost-effective, and that is able to provide adequate irrigation control of an irrigation field without the need to physically maintain, monitor, or manually actuate each of the different devices that may be implemented in modern industrial irrigation schemes. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.